Strike a Yoga Pose: Lifted Lotus

I have been showing you all the poses of the Closing Sequence of Ashtanga Yoga, and here is the second to last pose. This is the last of the seated postures and it really works your abs. It's called Lifted Lotus for obvious reasons; your legs are in lotus and you're lifting your entire lower body off the ground. It takes a lot of abdominal strength to do this pose, but after you practice it for a while, you'll be able to hold your body up longer each time.

If you are following the Closing Sequence, after doing Lotus, just place your palms flat on the ground next to your hips. If your hips and knees won't let you do lotus, just cross your legs at your ankles and draw your knees together towards your chest.

As you inhale, engage your abs and lift your body off the ground, hovering in that position. Don't worry if you can't get your entire lower body off the ground. At first try lifting only your bum up and keep your feet on the ground. This still strengthens your abs, so eventually you'll be able to get your feet off the ground too.

Hold this pose for as long as you can, taking deep even breaths, eventually working your way up to 100 breaths (crazy, I know). One to five breaths is a great place to start, and as you continue practicing this pose, gradually increase to more breaths as you become stronger.

Fit's Tip: This pose is much harder to do if your legs aren't in lotus, so practice these hip stretches, and eventually your hips will open up and let you fold your legs into lotus.

I found that this pose was a lot easier than it looks. It was more about concentration for me... but then.. most of the advanced yoga poses are (for me anyway). I love yoga.. it makes you so strong, yet relaxed.

my dad (who is VERY into yoga, also a drummer by trade,so has very strong arms) used to do this, then chase after us walking on his hands. We used to scream and run. He was Amazingly fast!! He's 53 and still does it! Go Dad